National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Bill [B14 -2017]

The Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs invites you to submit written comments on the National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Bill [B14 -2017].

The purpose of the Bill is:

To amend the -
• National Environmental Management Act, 1998, so as to correct the citation to the definition of “Constitution”; to correct the definition of “environmental mineral resources inspector ”; to provide clarity to the definition of “financial provision”; to add a new environmental management principle promoting diversity in sector; to provide clarity pertaining to the regulations that can be made for the procedure for the preparation, evaluation and adoption of environmental management instruments; to provide for a register of all environmental management instruments adopted in terms of the Act; to provide clarity that the Minister responsible for mineral resources is responsible for activities that are directly related to prospecting, exploration, primary processing of a mineral or petroleum resource; to provide for simultaneous submission of the National Environmental Management Act and the specific Environment Management Act applications for purposes of one environmental system; to provide for simultaneous submission of National Environmental Management Act and specific Environmental Management Act applications in order to enable integrated environmental authorisation; to provide for a trigger for the simultaneous submission of a National Environmental Management Act or specific Environmental Management Act applications after acceptance of mining right; to provide clarity that a successor in title or person who controls the land may also lodge a section 24G application relating to an environmental authorisation or a waste management licence; to empower the Minister to prescribe the information that must be contained in environmental management programme; to provide clarity on consultation to be undertaken by an environmental assessment practitioner on application for environmental authorisation; to provide clarity that an applicant or holder of an environmental authorisation relating to mining activities must set aside financial provision for progressive rehabilitation, mitigation, mine closure and the management of post closure environmental impacts; to provide clarity that residue stockpiles and residue deposits must be managed in terms of this Act; to provide clarity that a section 28(4) directive may also be issued to an owner of the land, a person in control of the land or a person that has a right to use the land in question; to empower Director-General of the Department responsible for mineral resources and municipalities to issue section 28(4) directives; to provide clarity that section 28 is applicable to anticipatory costs as well as remedial measures; to provide for joint and several liability in respect of the responsible persons listed under section 28(8); to empower the Minister responsible for mineral resources to designate environmental mineral and petroleum inspectors from staff within the Department responsible for mineral resources or an organ of state, by agreement; to empower the Member of Executive Council to designate environmental management inspectors to undertake compliance and enforce in respect of provincial environmental legislation;to empower the Minister to prescribe a Code of Conduct for environmental management inspectors and environmental mineral and petroleum inspectors; to provide clarity that an environmental mineral and petroleum inspector must also undergo approved training before designation; to provide clarity on functions and general powers of environmental management inspectors when conducting investigations; to provide clarity that the conducting of a “search” is not the primary purpose of an environmental management inspector undertaking a routine inspection; to provide clarity that an environmental management inspector may detain an item for further analysis or verification for purposes of determining compliance or not with applicable legal requirements; to provide clarity that the Minister’s power to develop regulations on admission of guilt fines contextualizes the related provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977; to empower the Minister responsible for mineral resources; Minister responsible for water affairs and a municipal manager to delegate functions and duties in terms of this Act; to provide clarity that a person may appeal a section 28(4) directive issued by a person acting on delegated authority; to provide clarity on circumstances that an appeal against a directive does not automatically suspend it; to provide clarity that an appeal against a directive must be lodged at the appropriate appeal authority; to correct references and cross references to offences and penalties and to update list of offences and penalties; to update the list of offences to Schedule 3.

• National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003, so as to provide for the Chief Financial Officer of the South African National Parks to be a member of the board; to create a new offence for non-compliance with section 48A which prohibits certain activities in marine protected areas; to rectify incorrect references to offences;
• National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004, so as to provide clarity on definition of “control” and to insert a definition of “eradicate”; to provide for the Chief Financial Officer of the South African National Biodiversity Institute to be a member of the board; to provide clarity on measures to be undertaken to eradicate listed invasive species; to provide clarity on the steps, actions or methods to be undertaken to either control or eradicate listed invasive species; to ensure that the MECs responsible for environmental affairs follow the consultation process set out in sections 99 and 100 before exercising a power in terms of a provision under the Act;
• National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004, so as to provide the Minister with discretion to establish the National Air Quality Advisory Committee; to provide clarity on the consequences of unlawful commencement of a listed activity; to provide clarity that a provincial department responsible for environmental affairs is the licensing authority where a listed activity falls within the boundaries of more than one metropolitan municipality or more than one district municipality; to provide for textual amendment to section 36(5)(d); to ensure alignment with respect to the implementation of one appeal process under National Environmental Management Act; to provide clarity that the Minister has a discretion to grant or refuse an exemption; to provide clarity that an exemption may be granted subject to conditions;
• National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act, 2008, so as to allow for the removal of structures erected prior to commencement of the Act; to provide clarity that an appeal against a decision issued by delegated official must be lodged at the appropriate sphere of government and appeal authority;
• National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008, so as to move all definitions from Schedule 3 to section 1; to provide for textual amendment to the definitions of “residue deposits” and “residue stockpiles” and “waste”; to provide for the exclusion of residue stockpiles and residue deposits from the provisions of the Act; to provide for the Waste Management Bureau to be established as a public entity; to provide for the simultaneous submission of the site assessment report and remediation plan relating to a contaminated land; to provide clarity that the Minister must keep a national register of all contaminated land; to provide clarity that the Minister responsible for mineral resources is responsible for implementation of the waste management system in so far as it relates to a waste management activity that is directly related to prospecting, exploration, primary processing of a mineral or petroleum resource; to empower the Minister to take a decision in the place of the provincial licensing authority under certain circumstances; to provide for the payment of processing fee for the variation of a waste management licence; to increase the fines that could be imposed in terms of regulations made under the Act; to provide clarity that there will be no exemptions provided from obtaining a waste management licence; to substitute Schedule 3 with new Schedule; to provide for transitional provisions in respect of the Waste Management Bureau;
• National Environmental Management Amendment Act, 2008, so as to clarify that an environmental management programme or plan approved in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act on or before and after 8 December 2014 is valid under National Environmental Management Act; to provide clarity that an appeal against an environmental management programme or plan lodged in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act must be finalised under that Act; and
• To provide for the transitional provisions regarding environmental management programme or plan approved in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act on or before and after 8 December 2014; to clarify that environmental regulations developed under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act continued until the development and publication of such regulations under the National Environmental Management Act and the National Environmental Management: Waste Act; to provide for transitional provisions regarding residue stockpiles and residue deposits approved in terms of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008; to provide for transitional provisions regarding the continuation of the Waste Management Bureau and to provide for matters connected therewith.

In addition to the written submissions, please indicate your interest in making a verbal presentation to the Committee.


Comments can be emailed to Ms T Madubela at [email protected] by no later than Thursday, 19 April 2018 at 16:30

Enquiries can be directed to Ms T Madubela on tel 021 403 3713 or cell: 083 304 9586

Issued by: Mr MP Mapulane, MP, Chairperson: Portfolio Committee of Environmental Affairs.